Microsoft: Halo Doesn’t Need A Movie, But There Will Be One

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Halo franchise development director Frank O’Connor is incredibly optimistic about his IP. Despite the abortive effort to make the movie a first time, he considers it inevitable.

“There will be a Halo movie, said O’Connor. We don’t need a movie. But we’d like a movie. We’d like the moms of gamers to see the movies because they would love our characters. Maybe we’ll even fund it ourselves.”

Still, he’s open to other possibilities, such as a mini-series. “We’d love to see Halo as a television series. Look what HBO did with Band of Brothers or even Rome. Something like that would work because the Halo universe is so vast, added O’Connor.

Source: Kotaku

PlaySpan Taps Funimation

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PlaySpan today announced that it is adding Funimation Entertainment to their video marketplace. The company is targeting anime fans with their virtual currency marketplace.

The anime offered by Funimation includes Fullmetal Alchemist, Witchblade, Hell Girl and Devil May Cry. Users can watch the first minute of an episode for free and then play $.99 to watch the video as many times as they like for the next week.

Source: VentureBeat

Ed Bartlett Leaves IGA

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Ed Bartlett recently revealed that he is leaving his post at IGA Worldwide. He has resigned as VP Europe of IGA Worldwide in order to pursue new ventures.

As one of the founding members of IGA/Hive Partners, Ed has played an important role in not only the growth of the company, but the in-game advertising industry as a whole, said Christian Vry, CEO of IGA. Everyone at IGA wishes him the very best of luck for the future.

Bartlett sold his agency Hive Partners to IGA in 2004, joining the company as a co-founder and helping to raise its initial $17 million Series A venture capital financing. He helped sell in-game ads to companies like EA, Valve, Codemasters, Sega and Atari and most recently as Vice President Europe, Ed has been responsible for IGA s day-to-day operations across the U.K., France, Germany, Spain and Poland.

The past seven years have been a remarkable period in my life and I am immensely proud of everything we have achieved together in that time, in particular the measurable difference we have made to game developers and publishers seeking new revenue streams said Bartlett. With new funding in place and signs of a resurgence in the advertising market, the company is extremely well placed to capitalize on renewed industry confidence and market growth. I’m now looking forward to exploring a number of exciting new challenges in gaming and beyond.

Blizzard Announces World Of Warcraft: Cataclysm Launch Events

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Blizzard Entertainment announced several of the official launch events that they will hold for World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. Retailers will hold special events on December 6 in the U.K., U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Russia, Sweden, the Netherlands and Taiwan.

“After two years of development, we’re excited to now be just two weeks away from releasing our best World of Warcraft expansion yet,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “Cataclysm will add a huge amount of new content to the game and change the face of Azeroth forever, and we can’t wait to celebrate this launch with players around the world.”

The U.K. launch event will take place at the GAME in Leicester Square, London, WC2H 7NA with doors opening at 10:00 PM GMT. More information about the global events can be found at eu.blizzard.com/company/events/.

Netflix Unveils Streaming Plan

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Netflix has offered its first streaming-only subscription plan for the U.S. for $7.99 a month. The existing unlimited streaming/DVD plans will see their cost raised.

Gabelli & Company analyst Brett Harriss says this is the first step in phasing out the DVD-by-mail business. “For a while, the goal of the company was to change its business model from DVDs to streaming because it recognizes the DVD has a limited shelf life at this time and streaming has higher margins,” Harriss said.

GameStop, Best Buy Roll Out Black Friday Deals

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Among the Black Friday deals at GameStop will be a $199.99 Xbox 360 4GB console, with a free $60 game voucher. Those who purchase a PS3 can receive all three God of War titles and Wii buyers will get a three-game pack.

Best Buy will also offer a Wii console, with Wii Remote Plus, Nunchuk, Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort for only $169.99, a $30 savings, The Nook Wi-Fi eReader will also be available for $99.99 or $50 off.

Apple Releases iOS 4.2

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Apple has released their iOS 4.2 for iOS devices. This will give the iPad multitasking, folders and Game Center.

“iOS 4.2 makes the iPad a completely new product, just in time for the holiday season, Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said. “Once again, the iPad with iOS 4.2 will define the target that other tablets will aspire to, but very few, if any, will ever be able to hit.”

Another new feature is AirPlay, which will let users stream music from an iOS device to Apple TV and using AirPlay and AirPort Express, music can be streamed directly to a stereo system. AirPrint also allows wireless printing directors to be sent directly to certain HP printers.

The Find My iPhone app is a free download and lets users find a device on a map and even remotely lock or wipe data. Also, iPad users have the ability to rent TV episodes directly using the iTunes App with a 30 day viewing window and a 48 hour session window once playback is started.

Left Behind Games Taps Christian Radio Network

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Left Behind Games announced today that it has signed three broadcasting agreements with Salem Communications Corporation. They hope to get close to 17 million impressions across Christian radio stations to promote the upcoming Charlie Church Mouse and Left Behind 3: Rise of the Antichrist.

“Our radio commercials are now featured for anyone to hear on our new website at www.LBGames.com, said Left Behind Games CEO Troy Lyndon.

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Deus Ex: Penthouse Break In

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The Deus Ex series has developed a reputation for letting the player progress in a variety of ways and take down enemies with a variety of stealth, shooting and computer hacking. Deus Ex: Human Revolution will continue this proud tradition in sepia toned environments.